DECEMBER TWENTY-SECOND
NUMBER OF CASES: 7,456
NUMBER OF DEATHS: 52
The first thing Jack did when he got out of bed was to call the ICU. The nurse caring for Tess reported to him that there had been no change in her condition through the night. He thanked her and told her he’d be in later.
“No change in her condition,” he whispered. It was a term that most experienced physicians had heard countless times. Sometimes it was reassuring and portended improvement. But, in the case of Tess Ryan, Jack suspected that wasn’t the case. It had only been forty-eight hours since her surgery. Jack knew that wasn’t enough time to declare either victory or defeat.
After a long shower, he got dressed. He brewed a cup of coffee, walked over to the desk and sat down. Before going to the hospital, he decided to review some of the latest articles he had already read on autoimmune diseases. While they were all of interest, there was nothing specific he could identify that would further help him in speeding Tess’s recovery. He closed the top of his laptop, gathered his things and left for the hospital.
When he was crossing the lobby, he saw Mike standing at the elevator. He caught up to him before the doors opened.
“I called before coming over to the hospital,” Mike said. “Her nurse told me she had an uneventful night…whatever that means. Do you think she’s any better?”
“I haven’t seen her yet but it sounds like she’s the same.”
“I was kind of hoping we’d see some signs of improvement.”
“It still may be a little early to make any judgments.”
The doors opened and they stepped inside the elevator. They rode up in silence but as soon as they got off, Mike said, “I’m willing to give this two more days, Jack. If we don’t see…at least some signs that Tess is getting better, I’m going to reschedule the C-section.”
Jack didn’t say anything. He simply nodded. It was obvious both he and Mike knew his statement was definitive and didn’t call for a response.